


Not the Father

by tommyshepherdd (atimeforflores)



Category: Marvel (House of M), Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, only because Tommy is a biter, protective pietro, tw blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2018-09-18 18:23:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9397448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atimeforflores/pseuds/tommyshepherdd
Summary: In which Pietro looks way too much like his nephews.





	1. Chapter 1

The first time it happened he was barely 24 and also barely awake. He was at the grocery store with the twins, having become their official babysitter after Wanda needed to go back to work, enraged that in America new mother’s didn’t get paid time off even if they were an Avenger (not that Wanda would want a special treatment over other mother’s it was just a matter of fact,  _ Pietro _ ).

 

He had been looking for his favorite flavor of Shredded Wheat- strawberry,  _ not _ blueberry,  _ Vati _ -when the old woman had come up to him, smelling like mothballs and grinning at him with a mouthful of obviously fake teeth.

 

“Oh aren’t they dear.” She cooed, stretching out one bony finger and poking Tommy in the tummy. If she let the little hellion bite it off that was her own problem, not his.

 

He  _ hmmed _ back at her still in the search for his cereal while simultaneously smacking Tommy’s chubby fingers away from where they had begun reaching for Billy’s pacifier again, picking up the bottle that the white haired baby had dropped earlier and waved it temptingly in front of his face. It worked like a charm, chubby arms darting away from where Billy was getting teary eyed at the ongoing assault and latching onto the bottle, giving one firm yank to get it out of his Uncle’s grasp and into his own. Billy gummed at him in what may have been thanks- or he needed a change, but Pietro wasn’t too keen on checking for that at the moment; he learnt his lesson the hard way after finding every men’s bathroom in the store void of changing tables.

 

“How old are they?” The old woman asked. Pietro darted a glance at her, deciding that the only thing keeping the woman’s whole body from sagging down into a pile of wrinkles was the too tight knot on the top of her head.

 

“Six months, maybe?” He answered, voice soft. He knew the dirty looks that he got for his accent on a few occasions. If the woman had any protests, they were out weighed by her love of babies.

 

“Oh how precious.” She said as an answer, prodding Billy this time. Billy let out a mixture of a burp- with spit up and all -and a scream at her. Tommy startled, dropping his bottle onto the hard floor of the store. Pietro sighed.

 

Automatically he finished a rag out of the bright red baby bag that Wanda had thrust at him that morning, wiping Billy with a robotic like efficiency before swooping down to scoop up Tommy’s bottle- wiping it with a baby wipe first because Wanda would kill him if she found out he didn’t.

 

“They’re a little shy.” Pietro muttered to the old woman, smoothing a curl out of Billy’s face, “We don’t go out much.” 

 

“That’s good.” The old woman- Gertrude, Pietro decided to name her -hummed, her fingers still dangerously close to Tommy’s mouth. “We have all those new flus going around nowadays. Back in my day there was no such thing as peanut allergies!”

“Of course.” He murmured back, looking for an escape route. Just in time Billy gave him another gummy smile as a putrid smell wafted towards them.

 

“Oh.” Gertrude said, recoiling from the dark haired child. 

 

“I apologize, ma’am,” Pietro said, quickly spinning his cart around, “It seems William needs to be changed, and it’s nearing naptime.”

 

“Thank you for the chat, young man!” She called after his retreating back, “Your sons are beautiful!”

 

It wasn’t until he was in line, fishing his car keys out of Tommy’s mouth- and how did that little demon get them in the first place? -that he truly registered her words. 

  
And he forgot the cereal.


	2. Chapter 2

The second time it happened, he had them at the playground. They waited until it got warmer again, giving Billy ample time to perfect his walking technique. Tommy had started walking at nine months, stumbling on stubby little legs that should not have been able to hold him up. Billy had talked first, however, squealing about his mother and shrieking no’s throughout the mansion. Tommy had yet to talk, staring at everyone with solemn green eyes. Billy had started walking only weeks before their fateful trip three blocks over to the little sandbox in the middle of the park.

 

He dressed them just as Wanda said- Billy in the red overalls with the teddy bear onesie underneath, and Tommy with the green overalls with the dinosaur onesie underneath. Billy’s curls were getting long, beginning to fall in the boy’s face; he didn’t sit still enough to let Pietro put a ponytail in his hair, not like Tommy did. Tony was going to love the Cindy-Lou-Who style that Pietro had wrestled the white haired toddler into. 

 

Tommy had begun trying to get out of the stroller as soon as it started going down the path to the park, flailing chubby limbs and making undignified squawking noises. Billy continued to nap, not at all deterred by his brother’s movements. 

 

When they finally made it to the little patch of grass that Pietro staked out to park the double stroller on, Tommy was full on screaming while trying to unbuckle himself. Pietro could feel the beginning of a headache forming. 

 

Billy snuffled quietly, staring up at Pietro with sleepy eyes. He reached for Pietro with chubby arms and a small smile. Pietro complied with the grabby motions that Billy was making, letting the toddler settle on his chest and snuggle into his neck. Pietro would enjoy it while he could, knowing that soon enough Billy would join Tommy.

 

Pietro noticed that Tommy was being quiet- too quiet. He looked away from Billy’s relaxed face and saw that Tommy was squatting with his back towards them. Pietro hoped that he wasn’t pooping. 

 

“Fuck.” Pietro muttered to himself as Tommy turned to glance back at them, a guilty look on his face. Mulch was falling out of his mouth, and Tommy was grimacing as it dribbled back out. 

 

“Spit it out.” Pietro snapped at Tommy, snapping his fingers and pointing towards the ground. Tommy stared back defiantly, making one obvious chew. 

 

“You little shit.” Pietro said, standing up to dig the mulch out himself. Billy grunted at the movement, smacking Pietro’s chest with his hands to show how displeased he was. Tommy shrieked a happy noise, clearly happy with the new game he created. 

 

Tommy was a fast little thing, and it didn’t help that Pietro was weighed down by Billy’s dead weight. Tommy weaved through out the playground equipment, laughing as Pietro cursed and was forced to watch from afar as Tommy shoved more mulch into his mouth. 

 

“C’mere, you little asshole,” Pietro called in what he hoped was a sweet voice, waving a sippy cup temptingly at Tommy. For the first time, Tommy seemed to pause from his assault on Pietro’s sanity to weigh his options. Pietro could see the option of Milk outweigh the option of Terrorize Uncle Pete. 

 

Toddling towards the bottle, Tommy spat out the rest of the mulch. Pietro wondered if he should take the boy to the nearby Urgent Care to make sure he didn’t actually swallow anything. 

 

Tommy let him wipe his face off, only trying to chew on the baby wipe for a few seconds. 

 

“You deal with them well.” A voice said from his right. He startled, jostling Billy and almost dropping the bottle he was handing to Tommy. Pietro turned to look at the man who had spoken, narrowing his eyes when he saw the man was alone. 

 

“Exposure therapy helps.” Pietro answered softly. He had thought that they’d be alone at the park; the lunch rush of nannies and stay at home moms had already left. He had taken weeks to find the perfect time to go to the park, taking the boy’s on jogs various times of the day. 

 

The man nodded at Pietro, a smirk firmly on his face. He had dark hair, and the smirk vaguely reminded Pietro of a shark. Pietro pushed that thought away as soon as it had come, not wanting to associate the handsome man with something that many had used to describe his father. 

 

“You seem to have a lot of patience.” The man told him, helping himself to the open seat next to Pietro on the park bench. Tommy looked offended by the man’s audacity, shrieking a decidedly not happy noise. 

 

“I know how to internalize my suffering.” Pietro deadpanned. Tommy continued to shriek, face getting scrunched up and turning red. 

 

Billy, too, was beginning to fuss. He had woken up early that morning, being dropped off at Pietro’s room by one of Tony’s robots. Apparently the Avengers had an early morning call, making the hellions Pietro’s responsibility even earlier than usual. 

 

The man suddenly jumped up from where he had sat, cursing up a storm while holding his bleeding thigh. Tommy had latched onto the man in what seemed like a second, digging sharp baby teeth into his exposed leg. Tommy began to sob as he found himself on the ground after the man’s quick movement. 

 

Pietro swiftly picked him up, glaring at the tall man who gazed back at him. Tommy rubbed his snotty nose across Pietro’s throat but he couldn’t find it in him to be mad. 

 

“You should train your brats better.” The man spat, turning on his heel. 

 

“You should fuck off!” Pietro shouted after him, always wanting to get in the last word. 

 

Tommy whimpered again, clutching his tiny arm to his chest and drooling out the stranger’s blood. It seemed that they would be spending their afternoon in Urgent Care after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, my update schedule is erratic. Comments fuel me. 
> 
> Connect with me on tumblr at gaysupersoldiers.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> ay pls comment,
> 
> gaysupersoldiers.tumblr.com


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